Onikakushi-hen
Onikakushi-hen (鬼隠し編, Spirited Away by the Demon Chapter) is the first arc in the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series, released on August 10, 2002 and preceding Watanagashi-hen. It is told from the perspective of Maebara Keiichi, who grows increasingly paranoid and eventually violent as he believes more and more deeply that his friends are trying to kill him. Plot Warning: Clicking on the chapter links will provide an in-depth description of the events in that chapter. There will be spoilers. Chapter One: The Beginning The first episode shows the happy life of Maebara Keiichi, who recently moved to the rural village, Hinamizawa. This chapter mainly focuses on Keiichi's and his friends happy days. Keiichi becomes a member of a club where his new friends, Sonozaki Mion, Ryūgū Rena, Hojo Satoko and Furude Rika are playing games after school. However, Keiichi's happy days are coming to the end as he learns from Tomitake Jirō, a mysterious photographer, that there was a bloody murder in Hinamizawa. Keiichi questions his friends about the incident but they're just denying it. Keiichi's doubt in his friends is rising. Chapter Two: The Secret Keiichi tries to ignore Hinamizawa's past and enjoy his peaceful life in Hinamizawa, but as the Watanagashi festival comes he learns more about Oyashiro-sama's curse from Tomitake's friend, Takano Miyo. On the next day Keiichi learns from Oishi Kuraudo, a local detective, that Tomitake Jirō was killed on the night of yesterday's festival. Keiichi decides to cooperate with the detective in order to find out the truth. Chapter Three: Suspicion Fearing from his friends, Keiichi skips school and finds out from Oishi that all of his friends are connected with the previous years victims. At the evening Mion and Rena visit Keiichi and give him a get-well gift, some Ohagi. At Keiichi's surprise, Rena and Mion know about his talk with Oishi and the Ohagi they gave him contains a needle. On the next day Keiichi takes the disappeared student's, Satoshi's old baseball bat for self-defense. However, as Keiichi finds out that Satoshi did the same things a year ago and yet, he disappeared his suspicion and fear start to turn into insanity. Chapter Four: Disturbance As Keiichi's insanity is growing he becomes more and more violent toward his friends and realizes that the whole village is out to kill him. On the climax of Oniakushi-hen's final chapter Keiichi's struggle to stay alive makes him do a horrible decision. Disappearances and Deaths All deaths and disappearances are listed only as they are told in Onikakushi-hen. Spoilers are only for the individual arc, not the overall series. Disappearances *'Hōjō Satoshi, '''disappeared June 1982, one year before the story *'Takano Miyo,''' '''disappeared on the night of the Watanagashi, 19th of June 1983. Deaths *Tomitake Jirō, killed himself on the night of the Watanagashi, 19th of June 1983, by scratching his throat with his nails and bleeding to death. *Ryūgū Rena, beaten to death by Keiichi on the 25th of June, in the Maebara house with Satoshi's old baseball bat. *Sonozaki Mion, also killed by Keiichi on the 25th of June, in the Maebara house with Satoshi's old baseball bat. *Maebara Keiichi', died from blood loss on the 26th of June, at the Irie Clinic after he clawed out his own throat in a telephone booth the night before. Live Action The 2008 movie ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Shrill Cries of Summer) is based off Onikakushi-hen. In the movie Keiichi goes into the Saiguden with Takano and Tomitake like in Watanagashi-hen. This seems to be why Mion and Rena are trying to kill him. See the trailer here. A sequel came out in 2009. Answer Arc See Tsumihoroboshi-hen Please do not deplore yourself. Even if the world does not forgive you, I will forgive you. Please do not deplore yourself. Even if you do not forgive the world, I will forgive you. So please tell me. What will it take for you, to forgive me? Frederica Bernkastel Category:Arcs Category:Question Arcs Category:Bad End